Bell Ringer Survives ‘Freak Accident’ at Worcester Cathedral

A visiting bell ringer at Worcester Cathedral was injured Saturday night when the bell rope got caught around his foot and hoisted him into the air, officials said.

Firefighters had to utilize their rope rescue skills to carefully lower the man down from the bell tower at the historic Anglican cathedral in Worchester, England. The bell ringer was dangling upside-down about 80 feet, according to Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service.

“Technical and challenging job to rescue one male from bell tower, professional crews a credit to the community they serve,” Grant Wills, a group commander for the Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service, wrote on Twitter after the incident.

The bell ringer, identified as 51-year-old Ian Bowman, was visiting the cathedral as part of a tour group from Widecombe-in-the-Moor in Devon, according to Worcester News. Speaking from his home in Widecombe, Bowman told the local British newspaper he may have fractured his back when he caught his foot in the bell rope and fell to the ground.

“I am waiting for a call to see if I have fractured my spine or not,” Bowman told Worcester News. “I want to get my health sorted before I talk about what happened.”

Mark Regan, ringing master at Worcester Cathedral, said Bowman is “an experienced ringer from Devon” and the incident was not caused by any safety issues related to bell ring.

“It was a freak accident,” Regan told Worcester News.

“Emergency services were brilliant. They had been here to practice, so they knew what to do,” he added. “It was quite dramatic.”